12 November 2010 2:07 PM

The weather is miserable, you've no holiday left and Christmas is looming, a big old red-coated bulk on the horizon.

But if you can make it through the festivities, a promising 2011 with a great Easter travel opportunity awaits.

The Travel Chatter team were looking ahead to next year (we're very organised) when we realised that Easter falls very late in April in 2011, so late in fact, it is just a week before the May Bank Holiday.

Now, if you think like us, you will already be totting up the dates, trying to figure out how much holiday you can swing.

Well, once you have taken all the Bank Holidays into consideration, we have worked out that you can enjoy an amazing 11-day trip while using up only four days of annual leave. Just make sure you head off on April 22 (Good Friday) and return on May 2 (Bank Holiday Monday).

Just think how much you can pack into 11 days; cruises, long-haul jaunts, city breaks, or just a few extra days lolling on the beach.

But make sure you book up soon, it won't be long until everyone else cottons on...

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11 November 2010 10:32 AM

What does VE Day stand for? When did the First World War end? Which country did we fight the Second World War for?

Feeling stumped? An eye-raising new survey by Leger Holidays, the UK's leading battlefield tour, reveals that while most of us might be able to answer the first question correctly, we fall woefully short elsewhere. Watch the video below.

83 per cent of those quizzed didn't know that the First World War officially ended in 1919, or that we went into battle for Poland in the Second World War.

In a bid to encourage older generations to share their knowledge and memories, the holiday operator has set up a new website, www.keepthememoriesalive.co.uk.

'Although people can read it in books, there is no substitute for talking to someone who was actually involved, or going and visiting some of the key sites,' says Paul Reed, Leger's battlefield expert.

'We have set up a programme of taking WWII veterans into schools to talk through their experiences, and the children are fascinated. Given the results from the questionnaire, it seems we just need to encourage Britain’s adults to do likewise!'

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03 November 2010 5:23 PM

You know that moment when you catch the scent of something vaguely exotic – and it transports you out of the mundane present and back to a special time and place? The scent of mown grass that returns you to a teenage summer, perhaps. The smell of a home-cooked meal that throws you into childhood nostalgia. That vague waft of perfume that conjures up fond memories of an ex – until you remember exactly why they are an ex.

Well, this same principle applies equally to holidays. Which is why – our Travel Chatter hounds tell us – a car hire company has just taken the clever step of creating a series of in-vehicle air fresheners that are designed to resemble the sweet aroma of five famous travel destinations. And they’ve done some research too. According to a survey commissioned by Holiday Autos, 35 per cent of people think that the feeling of being on holiday – the warm glow, the relaxed vibe – subsides within 72 hours of getting home.

Seems fair enough. But what of these air fresheners – which, presumably, you can put in your car, inhale deeply thereof, and pretend you are still knocking back cocktails in a sunny plaza when you are actually sat on the M25 at rush hour, just outside Potters Bar?

Well, to a certain extent, the company – or at least their customers, who recommended their favourite holiday smells – have hit nail firmly on head. When it comes to magicking up a pleasing stink suggestive of the USA, the choice is the odour of blueberry muffins. Nice. Similarly, the whiff of fresh baguettes with brie, and cuttings from the golf courses of the Algarve, would seem a solid representation of France and Portugal respectively.

But what’s this? The fragrance meant to have us all fantasising about Italy is ‘Vespa motorcycle fumes from the bustling streets of Rome’. And for Spain? ‘The unmistakable stench of the Pamplona running bulls’. Now call us picky, but we can think of many smells that would have us dreaming of Rome – steaming pasta, candlewax in St Peter’s, the dust underfoot in the Forum – but dirty motorbikes isn’t one of them. As for Spain – how about citrus groves, a wide bowl of juicy paella, gunpowder in Valencia during Las Fallas? But a herd of man-cows sweating in Pamplona? Is that really going to want to make you book a break to Spain? Or just throw your air freshener out of the car window?

Still, if you really want to drive a car that reeks of hot stampeding beef – or speeding moped – the first 50 travellers booking a car (www.holidayautos.co.uk) in any of the USA, France, Spain, Portugal or Italy will get one of the fresheners as part of the deal.

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01 November 2010 6:49 PM

If you're a fan of hand-stitched quilts, stencilling and lampshades held together with sticky-back plastic, now's your chance to experience rustic chic heaven.

TV presenter and property tycoon Kirstie Allsopp has joined forces with Visit Devon to offer fans of her Channel 4 show 'Homemade Home' the chance to win a week's holiday at the eponymous Meadowgate cottage in North Devon.

Allsopp says: 'It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Devon. I am very proud of what has been achieved with the renovation of Meadowgate; it has given new life to a property in a stunning part of Devon.'

Meadowgate, which is rented out as a holiday home, will feature in the second series of Kirstie’s Homemade Home which begins on Channel 4 on Tuesday 2 November.